<p>Hi!
I will be applying to colleges next year, and I am starting to really worry about the effects of my class rank. In my opinion, I have taken the hardest classes available at my school:
Math:
Algebra 2 Honors, Pre-Calc Honors, AP Calculus(as a sophomore), AP Stats
Science:
Honors Bio, AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Physics C, Honors Anatomy, AP Environmental (easy class)
English:
Honor 9-11, AP Language as a senior
SS:
AP Euro, AP US History, AP Government</p>
<p>My counselors have told me that I have the most rigorous course load of anyone at my school. However, my high school does not weight GPA when determining class rank ( I assume most schools don't, but I may be wrong). Instead, everyone who has a 4.0 are at the top and the valedictorian is chosen by ACT scores. I don't necessarily agree with this, since most kids in the top 5% have taken a very easy course load. However, I have a 3.9 GPA, so I have barely made it into the top 10% in a class of 530 students.</p>
<p>My question is, when applying to top tier schools, will class rank really matter? I have received a lot of mixed responses. I have a few good ECs that I am devoted to, including band, tutoring club, NHS, and over 500 hours of volunteering by the time I apply. Will the low class rank impact me when applying to schools like Harvard or even Brown(my #1 choice)?</p>
<p>Colleges will understand the context of your ranking and will probably understand. A 3.9 UW GPA with all those APs/honors is still very good, so I think you will be okay</p>
<p>Most high school’s no longer provide ranking to colleges, so Admissions must estimate a student’s rank by guessing if they are in the top 10% or top 25% of their class. One way they do this is to put all applications from a high school in GPA rank order and then compare the course rigor. </p>
<p>Every college I have visited says that the first thing they look at is academic rigor. They apply their own weighting system, and pay little attention to class rank. </p>
<p>Hey OP, ask your high school counselors for a copy of your school’s profile. That’s something that is sent out with your transcript, describing your school so that college admissions folks can evaluate your application in the context of your opportunities. The profile should describe how class ranking is calculated. If the profile doesn’t explain this, then you can ask your counselors to add that information.</p>
<p>Another factor is that on the Common Application your counselors will note if your course load was most rigorous possible–which in your case is clearly true. If you know your counselor well, you might also see if they–or one of your teachers who is writing a recommendation–would be willing to mention that you were taking the most demanding course load of any student in your year. </p>
<p>It’s to your school’s advantage to make your application as strong as possible, since high schools benefit from being able to say that they had students admitted to [fill in name of impressive colleges here]. </p>